'You have to make people believe you are in that moment': Boman Irani says making people laugh is business as usual

Comedy, Boman Irani insists, should be deemed business as usual for an actor.

The idea could seem surprising coming from the man who redefined deadpan humour in Bollywood, but Irani says his specific intention is never to be funny on screen.

“One goes ahead with the job of living out a role. In the process if the audience feels like laughing as they watch you, so be it. In my case, comedy at times comes from simply staring at the camera.

'On stage, the test is to convince a live audience, which can be tricky. In cinema, you have to communicate with the camera. In an ad-film, time is limited to the nano-second. I actually count the number of seconds I give to each expression,' said Boman Irani

"The audience follows the camera and not the actor, so they laugh at you or cry with you depending on how the camera takes in your expressions,” he explains.

In a line, of course, that is what good acting is about. Irani, though, would cut it more simply while taking stock of his calling.

“Acting, to me, is about convincing people that I am someone that I am not. You are not actually living in a moment, but you have to make people believe you are in that moment.”

The line obviously tells you why and how the mild-mannered gent, who wandered into acting after a stint as a photographer, manages to morph into screen avatars that are wholly unlike him.

From the scheming Dr Asthana in Munna Bhai MBBS and the wily Lucky Singh in Lage Raho Munna Bhai, and from the ditzy Batuk Patel in the Housefull films to the villainous top cop DeSilva in the Don flicks, the united shades of Irani would indeed put any actor to envy.

3 Idiots (2009): Irani’s act as Principal Viru Sahasrabuddhe — Virus to his students — in the Rajkumar Hirani blockbuster is perhaps his most popular till date

Irani has a simple logic to underline why comes across as flawless in any role that he signs up.

Acting, says Irani, is all about convincing people “I am someone that I am not”.

“Every film is a first film for me,” he explains his approach to a new role. “I staunchly believe that your level of enthusiasm for your work will ultimately translate in the quality of your output.”

His clinical approach towards comical roles could be a reason why the funnyman tag shines brightest in his rich resume as an actor.

If his best roles are in the comic genre, his latest occupation too is an imaginatively witty one.

Far removed from Bollywood scripts and his other love, theatre, Irani has again trained attention to advertising — the calling he was associated with long before his brilliant acts in Bollywood flicks made him a household name. The scene has changed, of course, since all those years ago.

Today, as he embarks on an innovative campaign for a line of air fresheners, Irani takes up the serious job of being that famous face on the product’s campaign that will sell its latest line briskly.

Well Done Abba (2010): The satire directed by Shyam Benegal cast Irani as a Muslim chauffer caught in a red tape riddle over a government grant for a well

“In advertising, as it is in cinema, storytelling and filming techniques have evolved. We have come a long way since radio spots and TV ads via celebrity endorsements where the novelty would be the filmstar or the cricketer featuring in the commercial,” he says.

His latest campaign for Ambi Pur fresheners should mark a new epoch in Indian advertising.

It harnesses the power of social media and sees Irani inviting fans to bring in their most smelly things. His challenge is to remove the odour, and if he succeeds the fan gets invited to a party he will host.

Don (2006) & Don 2 (2011): He essayed DCP De Silva, the classic evil cop who is after the smart leading man of standard antihero films, played by Shah Rukh Khan

“If not, I will change a hundred diapers!” he laughs heartily. “The deal was to make odour into fun business. Advertising is an art, too.”

Irani feels the change in the quality of our ad-campaigns is directly in sync with the advancement in our cinema because both have lately been emerging from a common domain.

Bright ad-filmmakers are increasingly venturing into filmmaking.

He cites the example of good friend Ram Madhvani, who gave him a break in the 2002 crossover release Let’s Talk, and recently made the brilliant Neerja.

“Hindi cinema is changing, though very, very slowly. The deal will always be about the economics, so the commercial aspect of cinema will never go away.

But look at our films today. Did we ever have genre cinema as sport films and biopics before? Even if a handful of directors tried such stuff before, they hardly clicked.

PK (2014): The Rajkumar Hirani blockbuster cast Irani as the good-natured news channel owner Cherry Bajwa, who has grown cynical with time. He impressed despite being in a cameo

Till only a few years ago, no one would venture making a real-life tale such as Neerja, on the subject of an airhostess’s bravery in a hijack situation.

Or Chak De! India, which revealed very different cinematic execution in terms of writing and characterisation, especially the way a superstar like Shah Rukh Khan was imagined.”

Irani, who has been equally at home acting our roles on stage, in films and in commercials, feels although the performance yardstick remains the same for actors across media, the challenges vary.

“On stage, the test is to convince a live audience, which can be a tricky deal. Reactions vary from day to day, show to show. In cinema, you have to communicate with the camera. While acting out an ad-film, time is limited to the precise nanosecond. I actually count the number of seconds I will give to each expression,” explains Irani.

If his grasp of the art seems solid despite no formal training, his early spell in photography seems to have helped somewhere.

The actor too acknowledges as much.

“Photography has helped me as an actor. Knowing the nittygritty of lighting, for instance, lets me understand what mood a character is being presented in on the screen. Similarly, if you understand framing in photography, it becomes easier to fathom the proportion to which your image may be magnified in a particular shot,” he explains.

It is a reason, Irani adds” why he always sits down “to have a chat with the cinematographer before every shot”.

Housefull (2010); Housefull 2 (2012) & Housefull 3 (2016): He keeps returning in every new film of the series as the ditzy Gujarati father figure named Batuk Patel

Son Kayoze Irani has entered Bollywood now, and his role in Karan Johar’s Student Of The Year was noticed.

Kayoze was also seen essaying a supporting role in Youngistaan, and in the recent comedy The Legend Of Michael Mishra, starring Arshad Warsi.

Irani junior revealed an initial slant at filmmaking, too.

He was an assistant director on Shakun Batra’s Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, starring Kareena Kapoor and Imran Khan. Irani is naturally happy, and would tell you he has just one bit of advice for his son.

“The only advice I ever give him is to be sincere professionally. Everything else that needs to be learnt, you will learn on the job if you are sincere at work,” he reasons. Sincerity, of course, makes Irani a choosy man, too. He will not compromise on the roles he signs up for.

“Something interesting needs to come up,” he says, when you ask him why he has never taken up work on television, which is a rage among Bollywood actors today.

The tone finds an echo when you ask him about upcoming projects. He would rather talk about them “when the time is right”, and “if need be”.